The Gypsy & The Fae (Helvinski Territory Book 1)

Chapter 1 - 5/25/2015

"Just think about it, Sweetheart. You'll get to know the pack leader's son! He goes there and will help you out!" Mom smiled at me through the rear view mirror. Now I felt a pit of nerves rolling around in my stomach. You think he'll be the bully and snobbish person like in those stories?

"Casper, you're not helping."

But those stories-

"Don't. Even. Think. It!" I wagged my finger at him. He blinked his deep green oval eyes at me before going back to licking his front paws. We're now in West Virginia, travelling the country roads. Soon, the roads became hilly before we were in the forests near the mountain range. The pack was situated a bit out of the urban and city areas, in the more "scenic" mountain area-cough-prime real estate-cough! The area was known for its wealthy neighbors that liked their privacy-most were usually the long living/immortal paranormals. Thus, the Helvinski's Private School being situated in this area for the rich and famous was a no brainer and didn't alert any alarms in the local population. We passed the gated school. All you could see were the iron gates and high brick walls. There was a huge golden plaque with Helvinski's Private School written in intricate loops. After passing it, we drove for a ways before we pulled up to a gate where a man in a brown security uniform came out from a guard house, making his way over. Mom rolled down her window, as the man leaned down. "You have an appointment?" he growled.

"Come on, Patrick. It's me Melinda Scher," Mom rolled her eyes at him. The guard blinked before a smile stretched across his face, revealing sharp fangs-vampire. "Nice to have you back. I'm sorry about your Mother's passing."

"Thank you. My daughter's with me. Shelly Scher and her cat, Casper. This is Patrick." The man swiveled his head to look at me. I started at how his eyes flashed silver then back to black. Grandma told me about some vampires being able to do this. The flash of their eyes was the only physical indicator of a Truth Seeker Vampire. They were used in security and investigative positions in a pack for their talent of detecting things in paranormals and humans. He gave a nod before standing back up. "You remember the way?"

"Yes."

"Welcome back to Helvinski Territory, Melinda. It was nice to meet you Ms. Shelly." The black wrought iron gates opened and Mom drove in. Trees shaded us from the sweltering summer sun, which was a relief. Casper pranced to the front of the car to look through the windshield, his tail flicking back and forth. "You know Casper...there are wolves here. You sure you want them to see you?" I questioned. His tail did a fast twitch before he looked back at me. Let them try. I'd love to see how they stand against a Gypsy's Companion. He yawned before flicking his gaze back to the view. I smirked and looked out the side window. The view cleared to huge mansions-side by side with large stretches of lawn in between. On the other side, there was a dazzling lake with boats docked. We drove further in for another 10 minutes, going through a small town. There was an actual mall-Chrys Mall-in the back. Chrys Mall was part of a chain of international malls and enterprises owned by a multibillionaire-Heaton Chrys, AKA: Fae. AKA: the pack leader of this establishment. I remember these facts because of Grandma's stories about her life here. Heaton Chrys and his son, Gavril Chrys, would also appear on TV commercials from time to time and that would spark Grandma into talking about him.

The streets had people selling, walking about, and sitting around chatting, enjoying their day. We got out of that area and kept on. Mom took some turns and went through a few bridges over wide rivers till we finally got on a lone road. It led to a huge house made out of bricks. "Well I'll be doggone...it's the same as ever!" Mom exclaimed. Her eyes were sparkling for the first time since Grandma's passing. "Fae spellwork is so wonderful! It kept this place so immaculate!" she sighed. We pulled the car up near the front porch. Mom quickly shut off the car and got out, while Casper jumped out of the front passenger window as I clambered out the back. Mom was already unlocking the door and walking in while I stared up at the giant of a house. Our home back in Florida was so tiny compared to this. It was a one floor home with 1 master bedroom (Mom's), and 2 guest rooms (mine and Grandma's), a tiny kitchen and a living room and dining room rolled into one. This house had two floors of windows and the top floor had three balconies. "Shelly, come take a look!" Mom hollered. Casper loped ahead while I slowly walked up the steps and into the house. I've never been here. Mom and Grandma always talked about it, but it never occurred to me that it was like this. Mom was zipping around oo'ing and ah'ing and talking nonstop about all the memories here. "Oh! Here! See these marks?! This was where your Gramps would mark how much taller I got on my birthdays!!! AHH! That's the burn in the wall where I got in your Grandma's spell book and set fire to her doll collection!" Mom squealed. I stared at her wide-eyed. I've never seen her so animated. Your Mom's gone mental. Casper jumped up on my shoulder. I could only nod in agreement.